Astros’ slumping bats seal loss to Rangers, send club back to cellar

ARLINGTON — While Lucas Harrell was getting hammered, the Astros couldn’t even make a dent.

Players that spent pregame interviews acknowledging their 1-9 lineup had been off target the last two weeks — overswinging, hitting as individuals instead of as a team, giving into pressure — showed no improvement once Rangers rookie righthander Nick Tepesch began firing fastballs, curves and sinkers that left the Astros empty and off-balance until they were trailing by eight runs Friday night at Rangers Ballpark.

Astros 4-6 hitters Carlos Pena, J.D. Martinez and Brandon Barnes struck out swinging in the second inning. Brett Wallace, Chris Carter and Pena were erased in the fourth. By the time Harrell had been banished and the Rangers had recorded an easy 10-5 victory during an American League matchup, the Astros were closer to their early April offensive futility than they’ve been all season.

Primary cause of skid

During their recent 13-game slide, a club that’s gone just 3-10 since June 21 has been outscored 94-39 and scored three runs or fewer seven times.

“We tend to fall off with the quality of our at-bats,” said Pena, who’s hitting just .217 with a .695 on-base plus slugging percentage. “That’s the thing where now we have to check ourselves and say, ‘No, we’ve got to get back to those quality at-bats over and over again. One after the other, one through nine.’ ”

It’s the selective-aggressive attack hitting coach John Mallee preaches and the organization’s front office — which emphasizes on-base percentage and walks — dictates. But it was rarely evident Friday and has been missing the last two weeks.

The Astros walked on to the field ranked first in Major League Baseball in strikeouts (798) and 29th out of 30 teams in batting average (.234), on-base percentage (.293) and slugging percentage (.376). Seven of the Astros’ starters were hitting .253 or less, five were at .231 or below and Jose Altuve (.288) was the only batter above .269.

While manager Bo Porter regularly pokes holes in the baseball world’s outdated emphasis on batting average, not having hitters who can regularly hit has been at the core of an Astros slide that’s bridged mid-June with early July and positioned the team with baseball’s worst record for its third consecutive 100-loss season.

Lineup in limbo

The rebuilding Astros are holding real-time major league tryouts. As a result, a lineup that had been altered 73 times in 86 games often lacks consistency and rhythm.

“We’re letting ‘em play,’ bench coach Eduardo Perez said. “Yeah, we’ve gone through a rough stretch. But at the same time, guys have to go out there and show us what they have. Bo’s done a great job of mixing and matching and giving the guys an opportunity to show what they have, and it’s our job to get them ready for it.”

Quick, uneven at-bats are plaguing the team, players said. Jason Castro, Carter and Pena have the ability to draw walks or extend plate appearances, but third baseman Matt Dominguez was hitting just .224 with an OBP of .253.

The majority of Astros hitters are strikeout liabilities — they racked up 10 on Friday. And a club 25 games below .500 ranks last in MLB in batting average with runners in scoring position (.223).

More of the same

The flailing continued Friday. Altuve led off with a single, but the Astros didn’t record another hit until the fourth when Castro lined his 23rd double of the season to left-center field. Then he was stranded after Carter and Pena struck out.

“It’s such a paradox. How can you be patient and aggressive? But you can,” said Pena, who had drawn 808 walks in 13 seasons and was signed partly because of his above-average OBP. “We have to learn it. But it takes time, patience and dedication. You can’t just go up and swing. You have to learn how to hit.”